January 31, 2014

 

Football Birthday Party

Christina from 4 Kids Cakes threw an amazingly bright fun Football Birthday Party for her son who turned 12.  Christina lives in Washington, my neighbor to the North, so it had to be a Seahawks Football Party :)
 Thank you Christina for sharing your party with us. With Super Bowl Sunday coming up this weekend we hope you get inspired by this party. 

"Real party, for our 12year old son - what better theme than a 12th man party for a 12th birthday!!!?" Christina of 4 Kids Cakes  


I love the mantel. All decked out and ready for some football. The football photo frame and wreath add a touch of fun whimsy and feminine detail without being too feminine for a boys party. 
Seattle Seahawks fans are known as the 12th man on the team, perfect for a 12th boys birthday party. Loving the POPs of colour.
4 Kids Cakes did a great job of incorporating the Seahawks color scheme into the party. I love details in a party and this party has details. From the field table cloth, to the football cupcake wrappers and marshmallows, to the referee shirt and whistle on the container.  Details add that extra little touch to your party. Your guests will remember those little details and be looking forward to your next party. 
Hut hut.  Chocolate covered footballs made by 4 Kids Cakes are too stinkin cute. 
The Beast Mode cupcake topper is my favorite.  Look at those little Skittles :)  Adorable! 
Cookies by Sweet Theme Bakery look almost too good to eat. Almost. 
Here's where you'd find me hanging out if I was at this party. The candy table. I see my favorites are there, Sour Patch Kids and Skittles.  
The Seahawks mascot cookie is blowing me away.  There's cookie talent going on there from Sweet Themes Bakery. 

I saved the birthday cake for last. So cool!  The cake was made by 4 Kids Cakes.  If you're in the Washington area and are in need of a cake, Christina is your baker. 
Thank you 4 Kids Cakes for sharing your son's birthday party with us.  

Vendor Credits:
Party Styling: http://www.4kidscakes.com/
Photography: www.StephanieVogelPhotography.com
Printables & Veggie Cups: http://www.partyondesigns.com/
Sugar Cookies: http://www.sweetthemesbakery.com/
Treat Bags & Straws: http://www.hooplaevents.net/
Oreos, Cupcakes, Fondant, Marshmallow Footballs, Cake Pops, Tumbler Cups: http://www.4kidscakes.com/
Table Cloth, Runner, Football Treat Boxes, Cupcake Wraps: https://www.facebook.com/bannereventsfan
Seahawks 12th Man Sign: https://www.facebook.com/ShabbySisterDesigners
Wreath: www.SimplyShontayDiaperCakes.weebly.com


January 27, 2014

 

Chinese New Year- Year of the Horse

The last two years I've had a few friends over to celebrate Chinese New Year.  See the other two parties here and here.  I keep this party small, inviting three friends to fill my four seat table. I decorate the table only and if you'll notice, I reuse some of my decorations. Nothing wrong with reusing.
2014 is the Year of the Horse and my friend Karen, who loves horses helped with the table décor. She brought over her horses from China.
When hosting a party, always check if your friends have something that you could use for décor. Friends like to help out and you can add some items to your party without having to spend more money. You'll find that your friends want to be involved with the party and help if they can.


For drinks I mixed orange juice, sparkling water and ginger ale. I had found this recipe in a Sandra Lee magazine. You just mix equal parts of all three ingredients. My friends noticed the small touch and enjoyed the bamboo paper straws I used to tie into the theme.  Thank you to my friend Tara who sent these to me. You can read her adventures of a city girl moved to Montana here.    
Red envelopes filled with money are traditional at Chinese New Year.  I filled mine with a lottery ticket, hoping my friends would win a little money. I picked these because they had Chinese New Year colours of red and gold.
For food I did a combination of homemade and take-out.  For homemade I did  Spring Rolls and Pot Stickers. The spring rolls weren't a big hit. I over cooked the veggies a little, oops, so they were a little mushy. And one of my friends admitted to me, she's not a veggie lover. The pot stickers however were delicious. They were easy to make and my guests really enjoyed them. The recipe makes a lot but you can freeze them :) 
Take-out rounded out the rest of the food. Why stress yourself out by making everything homemade. Kristina brought some take-out too.

Gold take-out containers served as party favors filled with Pineapple Tart Cookies.
Cookies were wrapped in red foil and I added a caramel Lindor truffle for a touch of gold.
Pineapple Tart cookies and Almond Cookies were served for dessert. My guests and husband really like the almond cookies. My guests thought the pineapple tart cookies had a nice taste. I found them to be a little dry and wished they had more filling.  These cookies were a little labor intensive.



A big thank you to my guests Karen for bringing her horses, Kristina for bringing some take-out, and Tara for sending me those great straws.
I hope you throw a mini Chinese New Year party too.  Never under estimate the FuN of a small party.

2015 will be the Year of the Sheep

January 13, 2014

 

It's NEW!



I am a sucker for certain NEW products. Make-up and snacks with the words NEW or SEASONAL on them get me every time. 

Saturday as I was getting the normal groceries I come around the corner of an aisle and BAM! this pink bag with a cupcake on it and the words NEW caught my eye. Darn you excellent peripheral vision. You got it, the bag flipped right into my cart. I told myself I had to try them for my readers. **wink wink**
The little fish were adorable as usual and fun to eat. The vanilla taste is mild but doesn't really taste cupcake-y. They're good but don't make me think I'm eating a vanilla cupcake. More like a vanilla cracker. These would be cute at any party and kids will of course gobble them up.

Home-made marshmallows is something I'd like to try making. I've never had a home-made marshmallow and I hear their little pillows of goodness. So I picked up this book at the library and thought one Saturday while my mans working I'll make some and have my first taste of a home-made marshmallow.
The grocery store had other plans. I took a short cut to the produce through the bakery section and again, my peripheral vision spotted these little bags. Curious, what's in the bags?  ooooh, homemade marshmallow's! How did the store know I was going to try making these. They were a little pricey but I had to try some.
Two things helped make my decision for me.  They're made in Seattle which is my neighbor to the North and the simple ingredients. While checking out the cashier, a male, spotted these in my cart and started chatting to me about home-made marshmallows. How to make them, how good they taste, what tools you need and tips in making them. Quite possibly the funnest conversation I've had with a cashier at the grocery store.
mmmm, these are good. I was expecting to need a glass of milk to wash these down since they're peanut butter.  To my surprise the peanut butter taste was nice and light. Not over powering and it let the marshmallow taste come through.  These are light and fluffy and not processed tasting at all.
I'm definitely going to try making my own home-made marshmallows.
Are you a sucker for new food products too?
Have you tried home-made marshmallows or made them yourself?
I'd love to hear from you.

January 8, 2014

 

Happy First Birthday

My second cousin had her first birthday on January 4th.  My cousin had the party at Munchkin Playland which is a perfect place for little kids.  They have a nice area for kids to play in and they clean up after your party.  How nice is that?

My cousin used her Cricut to make the Happy Birthday sign and these cute little decorations. How does my 19 year old cousin have a Cricut and I don't? Although I'm told a Silhouette  is what I should get. I'm going to have to research this.


Look at these cute little animals made by my cousin with her Cricut. I love the colours she chose.
The cake was made at a bakery and they did a great job of matching the party theme.
The high-chair back was made by my cousin with the help of our aunts and the tutu front was made by my cousin. So cute!
Smash cake from Albertson's. My second cousin loved the pink frosting more than she did the cake. She looked like a clown by the end of the night with all the pink frosting all over her mouth and nose.
I don't know why this picture came out sideways. It didn't look that way when I uploaded it. And I can't get it to not be sideways.


January 6, 2014

 

Baker and Spice Bakery Review

Ah Saturday, what do you have in store for me today?  
Every Saturday this year my goal is to try a new baking technique, try new to me bakeries, or have mini parties. 

One afternoon I searched the web for bakeries in the Portland Metro Area and came across Baker & Spice Bakery.  So I called up a friend and said, lets go try it out.

The moment we walked in the door the aroma hit us.  MMM, love the smell of bread.  The bakery makes small batches and uses quality ingredients. Just look at those artisan breads.


The bakery was packed with customers and I can see why. Not only did the place smell incredible, the bread look amazingly good and old world but they sell delicious looking baked goods too.


I came home with this mini coconut cake.  The mild coconut taste shown through in this cake.


When we walked into Baker & Spice it reminded me of Le Panier in Seattle's Pike Place Market. The lovely aroma and the popularity of the place. This is a bakery I'll be back to again.

January 3, 2014

 

Baking Adventures in 2014



Fizzy Party, Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!! 

We're well on our way into the New Year and there's so much in store. I have a lot of goals for Fizzy Party in the coming year and I love that you're joining me on this journey. Before I get to one of my 2014 goals, I want to thank every one of you who stops by and especially those who comment. Your feedback means a lot. 

One of my goals for 2014 is try new baking adventures. Hopefully all of them with friends. Because spending more time with my friends is another one of my goals.  I tried macarons for the first time and will make them again. I had a lot of fun baking with my friend. 

The next thing I tried was making my own edible glitter. I'm sure you've seen this pin all over Pinterest and I tried to track it back to a web page but couldn't find one. 

It looks so easy and look at that sparkle!  

I followed the directions exactly as it says in the picture and this is what I got,
Doesn't exactly sparkle does it? It just looks like coloured sugar.  I've been told by several bakers in the know that the only way to achieve this kind of sparkle is with luster dust. If you have this pin and have tried it, what did you think? 
Did you get the same results as me?

Needless to say, this pin got deleted.